Jason Carter on Crime

No ban on the death penalty

Jason Carter distances himself from a man he has loved and admired since boyhood: his grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter. Of the elder Carter's call to ban the death penalty, his grandson said, "I love my grandfather, but we disagree." And when
grandfather Carter offered to attend a campaign rally in Albany, Ga., his grandson politely asked him to stay home. "He wanted the people of southwest Georgia to see that he was a man of his own," the former president said in an interview in his office.

So it goes in what may be the nation's most awkward legacy campaign. Political families--from the Roosevelts to the Kennedys, Bushes and Clintons--have long been a part of American politics. Carter's bid to unseat Gov. Nathan Deal, the Republican
incumbent, is testing the strength and durability of the Carter name in Georgia, a red state that Democrats hope to turn blue. But it is also a test of something more: a deep bond between a 38-year-old grandson and an 89-year-old grandfather.

Most Americans only know Africa for crime and AIDS

On both sides of South Africa's borders, crime dominates conversations. The police system under apartheid was organized not to fight crime, but to preserve the system.
A Coloured taxi driver in Nelspruit once explained this to me in terms of the "rising crime" issue. I was with another volunteer, speaking English, and when the driver learned that we were from America, he began speaking in
English as well. "How do you like our country?" "I think it's great," I answered. "What do Americans think about South Africa?" "Most of them,"
I answered honestly, "have only heard about crime and AIDS and other problems. But I love it here and have never had a problem at all."

When robbed: perhaps my things will feed a poor family

When my house was broken into and all of my things were stolen, I found out how the community members band together to protect their own. That day one of the women told me that someone had broken down my door and stolen everything."Somehow,"
I kept telling myself, "this will work itself out." The wood around the door handle and lock had been splintered apart from the door.

My thoughts fluctuated between "Will I get my things back?"
Can he get them to Jo-burg and sell them before we get to him?" and "Perhaps my things would be feeding his family." I might even have insurance to cover the entire cost. I agonized a little over what to do, but every single person I talked to the next
morning at school told me to go to the police.

The community and police found the criminal; every single article of clothing, all the money, the computer--everything was intact. The police were as proud as can be; I was happy to have my things back.